Why is it that no matter where a conversation starts about
kicking a soccer ball and improving soccer skills, it always ends up with the
question, “How do I get more power?” I
usually try and stay away from this subject but I thought I would offer a few
pieces of advice for you power hungry soccer players and soccer coaches.
I generally avoid this subject for two reasons. First, most
soccer players lack “power” in their soccer kick because they are not using
proper form. If you get away from the
desire to have power and work on proper form, the power and distance will
come.
Next, I’m always asked if building muscle will add distance
to a soccer kick. Of course the answer is yes, but I am concerned that soccer
players and soccer coaches will be spending more time in the weight room rather
than the soccer field. Young soccer
players do not need to be hitting heavy weights.
Being able to squat 315 pounds sounds great but if then run
out on the soccer field and toe kick a ball, you are the perfect example of
wasted time and energy.
One of the key elements of our Blast The Ball soccer
training video was to spend a huge amount of time researching the soccer kick
itself. What happens during a kick, what
makes one person kick farther than another and what is truly the perfect form?
What became obvious to us was that PROPER KICKING FORM was
much more of a factor than muscle mass and player size. I have worked with many small female soccer
players that had much greater velocity on their kicks than their larger more
muscular male counterparts. This is due
to their perfecting of form and understanding of stored energy.
Here is a good example.
Why is it that a 5’9”, 170 pound pro golfer can out drive a 6’10”, 270
pound monster amateur golfer? The answer
lies in perfecting form of the swing (kick) and what delivers the most energy
to the ball at the time of impact.
Using these same principles we can learn what to DO and what
NOT TO DO during the soccer kick. One of
the key elements for youth soccer players is to help them understand that
anything that happens after contact is made with a soccer ball is fairly
irrelevant to distance and power. We see
younger players excessively PUSHING their leg past the ball with great force. “Hey, the ball is gone. Why are you still
pushing or forcing power to a block of air?”
Video taping a young player and showing them how much force they are
exerting AFTER contact will help them learn as well.
On Blast The Ball, www.BlastTheBall.com , we show you some
basic drills that will help program this thought process into players. Proper loading and storing of energy is key.
Then delivering that energy at a certain point is next. Anything that happens after contact is made
is simply a follow through or a gentle deceleration of the leg.
Work on this thought process and you eventually get
the feel for it. Practice storing the
energy in the leg until the contact point and that is it. It will almost look like the foot is stopping
at the ball at first and that is OK. Eventually it will become part of a
smooth, natural and powerful kick
